McConnell plummets to 21st after two punctures but still manages to claw back series lead
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Anne Terpstra (Ghost Factory Racing) takes to the lead early in the XCO at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Vallnord 2022(Image credit: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool)
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Absolut-Absalon-BMC) went out hard on the chase early but then faded a little in the heat(Image credit: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool)
Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing) tries to cool off in the hot conditions(Image credit: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool)
Women's Elite XCO podium with Anne Terpstra first, Mona Mitterwallner second, Ramona Forchini third, Laura Stigger fourth and Caroline Bohé fifth(Image credit: Bartek Wolinski / Red Bull Content Pool)
Anne Terpstra (Ghost Factory Racing) put in a dominant performance in Vallnord to win the hot and dusty Mountain Bike World Cup round, repeating her 2019 victory in Andorra, but it wasn’t quite enough to beat the bad-luck-stricken Rebecca McConnell (Primaflor Mondraker Genuins) to the series lead.
McConnell’s 21st place after two punctures was still enough to put her back at the top of the overall leaderboard, moving ahead of an absent Loana Lecomte (Canyon CLLCTV). Terpstra also leapfrogged the French champion to slot into second in the series.
On Sunday's high altitude race at Vallnord – around 2000m – Terpstra built a strong gap early. The Dutch rider was initially holding off the chase of McConnell, short track winner Alessandra Keller (Thömus maxon) and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Absolut-Absalon-BMC) but while the composition of the pursuers behind Terpstra changed as the race continued, her dominant position didn’t.
"I think this course and the altitude must suit me really well," said Terpstra. "I like it when it’s hot, I like it when its dusty and I love the technical parts here, so I guess it just something that suits my kind of riding.”
Mona Mitterwallner (Cannondale Factory Racing Team) was in the end the only rider who even got close to looking like a potential threat to Terpstra. The first year elite rider, who last year took a clean sweep of the U23 World Cup series, relentlessly pushed the pace, both on the technical descents and hot climbs, and moved up the field in the scorching conditions to take second, 57 seconds behind Terpstra. It is the 20-year-old’s best result so far in the elite ranks.
It was a first ever elite World Cup podium for Ramona Forchini (jb Brunex Superior Factory Racing) in third, Laura Stigger (Specialized Factory Racing), who started aggressively, came fourth and Terpstra’s Ghost Factory Racing teammate Caroline Bohé was fifth.
Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.
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